Now that they’re on the same side, Mike Smith can finally say what he really thinks about Matthew Tkachuk.

“It’s fun now that he’s on my team,” the Calgary Flames netminder said with a chuckle. “But I was pretty rattled when I played these guys last year, and I had to play against him.

“He was in my face all game.”

Being a you-know-what disturber is one of the 19-year-old winger’s most notable attributes, and, so far this 2017-18 National Hockey League campaign, Tkachuk is not letting up.

But highlights of Thursday’s 2-1 overtime victory versus the Pittsburgh Penguins reveal that playmaking ability, hockey sense and resilience are all part of the package — and, at the same time, there is evidence of growth.

Take the Penguins’ game-tying marker with 1:12 remaining in the third period.

Tkachuk was ready to receive a pass along the boards, but instead, Evegeni Malkin sent the puck towards the point and somehow it hopped over Tkachuk’s stick and right to Kris Letang.

Heck, Tkachuk was in the perfect spot positionally, and the play could have gone drastically different.

“That happens,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. “Ninety-nine times out of 100, his line probably corrals it. Whether it hopped or went under, he was in the right spot. For him, to come back, he doesn’t get fazed. He plays.”

And continued playing, despite having made what he perceives as a mistake.

“I was frustrated because I did everything I could,” Tkachuk had said afterwards about the play. “I mean … I sealed the wall. The puck was a little bit off the ice. My stick was on the ice. And if I have it, I pass it to Fro (Michael Frolik) and it’s an empty-net goal or we have numbers and it’s an empty-net goal. It’s just kind of an unfortunate bounce.”

So what did he do?

Shook it off, of course. There was still work left to do in the extra frame.

“I tried to get it out of my head and tried to be a good supporter on the bench the last minute or whatever and in overtime,” Tkachuk said. “Because to be honest, I didn’t really think I was going to go out there in overtime.”

He did, only for second time in his career and set up Mark Giordano for the game-winner.

But that wasn’t all.

Picking up the puck in the neutral zone from Sidney Crosby, Tkachuk duped the Penguins captain again when he faked him out along the boards to turn the play back up the ice. He was able to cruise into the opposition zone, leaving only Olli Maatta to fend off Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and the Flames captain.

“I knew once I did that, I had numbers,” Tkachuk said about his slick move. “Guys were yelling on the bench. I tried to actually give Gio a one-timer, but I missed the pass a little bit and he adjusted great and made an awesome shot.”

Giordano returned the praise.

“That’s pretty cool,” the captain said of Tkachuk’s pass. “I think the move he made was better — the fake coming back and then cutting up ice. That really opened up the play. Three-on-three, you get a lot of ice out there. That one (move) and the one cutting in, too … the cutting in, people probably won’t (realize), it’s a subtle move but it forces the middle guy to freeze and stay in the middle instead of coming to me.

Penguins Ryan Reaves slams Matthew Tkachuk into the boards during the second period. Tkachuk had to leave the game temporarily after the hit.

“So two pretty big plays by a young guy in OT.”

As if the coach needed more proof that this kid is a gamer.

“We all saw that goal at the end,” Gulutzan said. “He showed great patience, and we ended up getting an odd-man rush. Gio made a heck of a shot, and he made a heck of a pass.

“That kid responds … he reeks character.”

And Smith couldn’t agree more.

“Huge,” said the Flames goalie, shaking his head when asked about Tkachuk’s play in the overtime frame. “Huge. It bounces over his stick, and it’s going to happen (in the third period). Unfortunate they get a little deflection in the slot there, but that kid, he’s the heart and soul of our team.

“He’s in every battle, and he’s got his nose over the puck. He’s a feisty little bugger.”

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